COMPLETION  OF 

THE  HISTORICAL  WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCEOPT 


COMPLETION  OF 

THE   HISTORICAL  WORKS 


OP 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 

The  publication  of  the  Historical  Works  of  Hubert  Howe 
Bancroft,  is  now  completed.  The  series  consists  of  the  fol- 
lowing works: 

Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  5  vols. 

History  of  Central  America,  3  vols. 

History  of  Mexico,  6  voJs. 

History  of  Texas  and  the  North  Mexican  States,  2  vols. 

History  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  1  vol. 

History  of  California,  7  vols. 

History  of  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming,  1  vol. 

History  of  Utah,  1  vol. 

History  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  2  vols. 

History  of  Oregon,  2  vols. 

History  of  Washington,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  1  vol. 

History  of  British  Columbia,  1  vol. 

History  of  Alaska,  1  vol. 

California  Pastoral,  1  vol. 

California  Inter  Pocula,  1  vol. 

Popular  Tribunals,  2  vols. 

Essays  and  Miscellany,  1  vol. 

Literary  Industries,  1  vol. 

Each  of  the  above  works  is  complete  in  itself,  though 
written  with  reference  to  the  others,  thereby  economizing 
space  and  saving  repetition.  The  volumes  are  in  size 
octavo,  of  about  800  pages  each,  and  are  published  at  the 
uniform  price  of  $4.50  a  volume  in  cloth,  and  $5. 50  in  sheep 

(i) 


2  WORKS  OF  HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 

binding;  half  morocco,  $6.50;  full  morocco,  $8.00.  Maps 
and  illustrations  are  freely  employed  whenever  deemed 
essential.  The  Biographical  Section  of  Mr  Bancroft's  his- 
torical series,  entitled  Chronicles  of  the  Builders  of  the 
Commonwealth,  is  separate  from  the  above,  and  is  still  in 
course  of  preparation. 

It  is  universally  admitted  by  the  prominent  men  of 
Europe  and  America  that  this  is  the  most  remarkable  liter- 
ary undertaking  of  the  age.  "It  took  the  world  of  scholars 
by  storm "  says  Sir  Arthur  Helps,  having  in  mind  the 
words  of  Mr  Herbert  Spencer,  who  wrote  the  author,  "  I  am 
finding  your  collection  of  facts  very  valuable  for  my  own 
more  immediate  ends  in  writing  the  Principles  of  Sociology," 
while  the  London  Academy  pronounces  it "  the  most  colossal 
literary  achievement  of  the  nineteenth  century."  The  ter- 
ritory covered,  which  is  equivalent  to  one  twelfth  of  the 
earth's  surface,  comprises  the  western  half  of  North  Amer- 
ica, including  the  whole  of  Mexico  and  Central  America. 
For  this  territory  the  foundations  of  history  are  in  these 
volumes  forever  laid.  "  From  these  volumes,"  says  a  writer 
in  the  Century,  "must  be  drawn  hereafter  the  only  trustworthy 
history  of  these  parts."  No  one  can  ever  undermine  or  gainsay 
the  facts  as  herein  presented,  being  derived  to  a  great  extent 
directly  from  participators  in  and  eye-witnesses  of  the 
events.  "  Nothing  more  national  or  complete  is  ever  likely 
to  be  seen  "  writes  the  editor  of  the  Glasgow  Herald,  while 
the  New  York  Tribune  early  testified  that  it  was  "recognized 
as  an  authority  of  the  first  rank." 

The  collection  of  material  for  the  historical  works  of  Mr 
Bancroft  was  begun  by  the  author  in  1858,  and  his  library, 
for  which  he  erected  a  fire-proof  brick  building  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, has  continued  to  grow  from  that  day  to  this.  "It  is 
safe  to  say  that  no  amount  of  wealth  would  make  it  possible 
at  this  day  to  gather  such  a  library,"  writes  Mr  Scott  in  the 
Oregonian,  and  the  British  Quarterly  Review  declares  that 
11  no  tribute  can  be  too  great  to  the  industry  and  research  of 
the  author."  The  New  York  Tribune  declares  that  "there  is 
nothing  in  the  world  which  exactly  corresponds  in  value,  in 
interest,  in  abundance,  and  in  completeness,  with  this  price- 
less library;"  and  "never,"  says  The  Nation,  "was  a  large 
library  more  thoroughly  ransacked  or  more  completely  laid 
under  tribute  by  a  writer." 


WORKS    OF    HUBERT    HOWE    BANCROFT  6 

The  publication  of  the  historical  series  proper  began  in 
1875,  and  ended  in  1891.  Thus,  including  the  preparation 
and  execution  of  this  great  work,  no  less  than  thirty-three 
years  were  occupied  by  the  author,  with  the  constant  help 
of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  able  assistants — an  army  of  work- 
ers involving  enormous  labor  and  expense  ;  so  that  the  Chi- 
cago Inter-Ocean  speaks  within  bounds  when  it  calls  it  "an 
undertaking  of  great  magnitude,  which  only  a  fortune, 
united  with  the  requisite  energy  and  scholarly  acquirements 
of  the  author,  could  have  reached;"  likewise  the  Boston 
Congregationalist,  which  asserts  that  "the  history  of  litera- 
ture does  not  contain  a  single  example  of  a  grander  literary 
purpose,  a  more  thorough  preparation,  or  a  more  successful 
achievement." 

That  this  work, — that  is,  the  collection  of  the  material 
and  the  writing  and  publishing  of  these  histories, — was  a 
work  worth  doing,  a  work  which  ought  to  be  done,  being  in 
every  sense  to  the  highest  advantage  of  the  country  and 
every  person  in  it  ;  and  that  it  has  been  well  and  faithfully 
done,  there  is  abundance  of  the  highest  testimony.  First  as 
to  the  author's  ability.  Says  the  Boston  Post,  "  The  industry, 
the  sound  judgment,  and  the  excellent  literary  style  dis- 
played in  this  work  cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  It  stands 
quite  alone  of  its  class  in  this  department." 

u  He  has  applied  the  scientific  methods  of  history-writing 
in  a  manner  never  before  dreamed  of." — Record-Union. 

"  Beyond  all  the  patient  labor  in  marshalling  details,  Mr 
Bancroft  shows  also  a  sound,  healthy  literary  judgment." — 
Atlantic  Monthly. 

u  He  has  investigated  with  the  most  conscientious  care 
and  criticised  with  no  little  skill  the  enormous  mass  of 
official  documents  which  in  different  ways  relate  to  his  sub- 
ject ;  and  he  has  digested  the  results  of  his  laborious  toil 
into  a  narrative  clear,  logical,  and  attractive." — London 
Times. 

"  You  have  handled  a  complex,  sometimes  even  tangled 
and  tautological  subject  with  much  clearness  and  discrim- 
ination."— /.  R.  Lowell. 

u  The  plan  of  the  great  work  has  been  honored  in  the  exe- 
cution."— Daily  Oregonian. 

"  Tt  is  a  monument  of  well-directed  industry  and  great 
ability." — Edinburgh  Scotsman. 


4  WORKS  OF  HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 

"  A  lasting  monument  to  the  scholarship  and  ability  of 
its  author." — Louisville  Courier- Journal. 

"  An  excellent  example  of  a  kind  of  work  which  only  a 
true  historian  could  do.  The  volume  is  worthy  of  its  author's 
reputation — a  monument  of  industry,  of  care  and  grasp,  and 
philosophical  penetration." — British  Quarterly  Review. 

"  Those  who  have  followed  Mr  Bancroft  in  his  noble  liter- 
ary undertaking  have  learned  to  trust  both  his  learning  and 
his  judgment.  No  author  of  this  or  any  former  period  has 
undergone  so  rigid  a  discipline,  and  few  have  shown  so 
strong  a  faculty  for  arranging  facts,  coupled  with  so  trust- 
worthy a  discrimination  and  sense  of  proportion." — N.  Y. 
Tribune. 

"  Mooted  questions  are  discussed  with  such  a  fullness  of 
information  as  to  compel  assent  to  the  cautious  conclusions 
drawn."— N.  Y.  Post. 

"1  am  amazed  at  the  extent  and  minuteness  of  your 
researches." — William  Cullen  Bryant. 

"  What  strikes  me  most  in  it  is  the  exceeding  fairness 
with  which  he  treats  the  researches  and  the  theories  of  other 
inquirers  into  subjects  akin  to  his  own." — Sir  Arthur  Helps. 

"  Mr  Bancroft's  narrative  might  well  be  adopted  as  a  text- 
book in  colleges  and  universities  for  the  strong  light  it  throws 
upon  national  evolution." — N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"  In  romantic  interest  the  book  has  a  marvellous  charm, 
with  no  violation  of  the  real,  a  brilliant  picture  with  no 
unpardonable  overcolor." — Sac.  Record-Union. 

"In  no  volume  that  Mr  Bancroft  has  written  has  he 
woven  a  more  lively  interest  than  in  this." — Boston  Home 
Journal. 

"  Prof  Royce  takes  no  pains  to  conceal  his  generous  admi- 
ration of  the  work  done  by  Mr  Bancroft." — New  York  Inde- 
pendent. 

ik  In  the  line  of  historical  research  his  work  has  no  paral- 
lel. Of  the  volumes  of  manuscripts  and  printed  books 
named,  all  are  either  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Bancroft  or 
have  been  used  by  him  in  the  preparation  of  his  work.  One 
class  of  manuscripts  secured  by  Mr  Bancroft  deserves 
especial  mention  as  being  unique  in  character,  and  those 
are  dictations,  or  personal  reminiscences  ;  and  of  these  he 
has  many  hundreds." — Boston  Traveller. 


WORKS  OF  HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT  5 

Of  the  work  itself,  a  volume  could  not  contain  all  that 
has  been  said  in  its  praise.  John  Gr.  Whittier  pronounces  it, 
"  one  of  the  noblest  literary  enterprises  of  the  day."  Thomas 
Carlyle  calls  it  "  exceedingly  interesting  and  important." 
Clarence  King  says  "it  is  simply  fascinating."  A.  K. 
Spofford,  librarian  of  congress,  classifies  it  as  "  a  monument 
of  literary  and  historical  industry." 

The  Journal  of  Science  says  "the  work  forms  one  of  the 
most  valuable  contributions  of  modern  times,  and  should 
have  an  honored  place  in  every  well-selected  library,"  while 
the  talented  John  W.  Draper  writes  to  the  author,  "Your 
work  has  taught  me  a  great  many  things.  It  needs  no 
praise  from  me.  It  will  be  consulted  and  read  centuries 
after  you  are  gone."  "  The  work  has  no  parallel  in  litera- 
ture "  declares  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 

In  regard  to  style,  the  highest  praise  comes  from  the  best 
judges.  Pages  might  be  given  of  such  testimonials  as  the 
following:  "  His  style  is  clear  and  without  affectation, 
recalling  the  straightforward  simplicity  of  Herodotus." — 
London  Westminster  Review. 

"  He  writes  well  and  gracefully." — New  York  Sun. 

"  I  arn  full  of  admiration  at  the  immense  reading  it  dis- 
plays, and  at  the  singular,  vivid,  and  graceful  English  in 
which  that  reading  is  expressed." — W.  H.  Lecky. 

"  The  work  is  intensely  interesting.  Mr  Bancroft's  style 
is  clear,  his  arrangement  of  materials  judicious,  and  his 
symmetry  admirable." — Chicago  Journal. 

"  Striking  passages  are  welded  together  with  a  logical 
cohesion  so  strict  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  detach 
them."— New  York  Herald. 

"I  am  particularly  pleased  with  the  sharp,  condensed 
form  in  which  the  facts  are  given." — Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

"Mr  Bancroft's  style  deserves  great  commendation." — S. 
F.  Bulletin. 

"  The  information  has  been  digested  into  a  flowing  and 
entertaining  narrative." — New  York  Observer. 

"  Clear,  concise,  forcible,  and  well  adapted  to  the  require- 
ment of  modern  students." — Overland  Monthly. 

"  Here  is  that  close  minuteness  of  research,  fullness  of 
detail,  and  firmness  in  tone  which  makes  his  work  the 
standard  authority  on  whatever  field  it  touches.  Many 
extracts  might  be  conveniently  given  as  examples  of  the 


WORKS  OF  HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 

author's  chastened   elegance  of  style,  as  well  as  the  judi- 
ciousness of  his  reflections." — Glasgow  Herald. 

Now,  if  all  this  is  true  ;   if  the  author  is  not  in  error  as  to 
the  great  importance  of  gathering  this  material,  of  saving 
from  oblivion  an  immense  mass  of  valuable  knowledge  which 
but  for  him  would  have  been  forever  lost,  of  taking  from  the 
mouths  of  thousands  of  living  witnesses,  who  are  fast  pass- 
ing away,  what  they  have  seen  and  done  while  this  great 
building  up  of  the  western  world  has  been  going  on  ;  if  the 
learned  men  throughout  the  world  are  not  in  error,  those 
capable  of  knowing  what  is  valuable  in  human  development, 
and   of  judging   of  historical  work,  whether   or   not   it  is 
properly  done, — if  this  is  true,  then  these  works  should  be  in 
every  library  worthy  to   be  called   a  library.     For  surely 
every  library  should  have  in  it  a  history  of  the  world,  and 
the  history  of  the  world  is  not  complete,  and  never  can  be 
complete,  without   these   volumes.      This    latest  and  mag- 
nificent west,   with   its    half-century  of  marvellous    devel- 
opment, such  as  ha,s  revolutionized  the  world's  commerce 
and  industries,  could  scarcely  be  left  out.     Within  the  terri- 
tory here  covered  have  been  worked  out  some  of  the  grandest 
problems  of  civilization,  and  which  are  as  full  of  importance 
to  the  race  as  any  of  ancient  Greece  or  Rome.    To  make  any 
advance,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what  is  and  has  been;  for 
then  only  can  we  form  an  idea  of  what  may  be. 

ADDRESS 

THE  HISTORY  COMPANY 

SAN   FRANCISCO,  CAL. 
°"      F.  M.  DERBY 

149  CHURCH  ST.,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


ESSAYS  AND  MISCELLANY 


[From  the  New  York  Tribune,  Oct.  22,  1890.] 

Iii  this  volume  Mr  Bancroft,  now  nearing  the  end  of  his 
labors,  has  brought  together  a  number  of  essays  and  miscel- 
laneous papers,  many,  if  not  most,  of  which,  have  grown  out 
of  his  reading  for  the  "  History  of  the  Pacific  Coast."  In  all 
such  extensive  literary  enterprises  there  accumulates  much 
matter  which,  while  often  incapable  of  being  worked  into 
the  main  scheme,  represents  too  much  research  to  be  thrown 
away,  and  this  kind  of  matter  naturally  and  properly  takes 
form  in  supplementary  essays.  But  in  the  volume  before  us 
there  are  several  papers  of  quite  a  different  origin.  In  these 
the  author  appears  to  have  sought  opportunity  to  free  his 
mind  of  certain  positive  conclusions  and  strongly  held  views 
upon  various  controverted  questions.  As  regards  some  of 
these  Mr  Bancroft's  views  are  such  as  to  expose  him  to 
attack  from  several  directions  ;  but  those  who  most  strongly 
differ  from  him  must  acknowledge  that  he  exhibits  the  full 
courage  of  his  convictions ;  that  he  is  deterred  from  saying 
what  he  thinks  by  no  fear  of  condemnation  ;  and  that  the 
attainment  of  truth  is  manifestly  his  sole  end  and  aim.  The 
essays  on  "  The  Early  American  Chroniclers,"  "  Literature 
of  Central  America,"  "  Literature  of  Colonial  Mexico,"  and 
"  Literature  of  Mexico  during  the  Present  Century,"  are 
papers  which  show  ripe  knowledge  and  thorough  research, 
but  deal  with  matters  of  less  than  general  interest.  The 
conclusion  apt  to  be  reached  by  the  average  reader  is  that 
neither  in  Mexico  nor  in  Central  America  is  there,  or  has 
there  ever  been,  a  literature  deserving  serious  consideration. 
That  conclusion,  indeed,  is  not  far  from  the  truth,  for 
between  the  paralyzing  influence  of  the  church,  the  constant 
disturbance  of  intestine  agitations,  and  the  undeveloped 
intellectualistn  of  the  mixed  races  concerned,  literature  has 
had  little  opportunity  to  strike  a  deep  root,  or  to  produce 
any  important  work. 


8 


ESSAYS   AND    MISCELLANY 


Mr  Bancroft  makes  full  allowance  for  all  these  drawbacks 
and  obstacles,  yet  he  allows  more  weight  and  value  to  many 
Mexican  books  than  the  world  at  large  has  done  or  is  at  all 
likely  to  do.  His  admission  that  so  far  the  Latin  races  on 
this  continent  have  done  little  more  than  imitate  foreign 
writers,  is  a  damaging  one  as  regards  any  claim  for  consid- 
eration on  the  ground  of  originality  ;  and  it  cannot  be  said 
that  he  advances  much  in  illustration  of  Mexican  or  Central 
American  inventive  or  creative  power.  We  pass  from  these 
essays,  with  all  their  erudition,  somewhat  willingly,  and  turn 
to  those  in  which  the  author  delivers  his  own  mind  with  that 
uncompromising  candor  which  is  a  distinguishing  trait  of 
his  character.  It  is,  moreover,  so  alien  a  quality  to  the  pop- 
ular habit  of  the  time  that  it  produces  the  effect  of  a  return 
from  artificiality  to  nature.  Among  the  changes  which  nine- 
teenth century  civilization  has  wrought  upon  thought  and 
expression  is  the  practice  of  an  emasculating  avoidance  of 
direct  and  wholly  unambiguous  discussion  and  statement. 
Issuing  in  the  growth  of  a  new  sensibility,  which  shrinks 
from  hurting  the  feelings  even  of  those  who  are  believed  to 
be  wholly  and  mischievously  in  the  wrong,  and  reinforced 
by  the  spread  of  a  scepticism  which  breeds  indifference 
toward  the  most  vital  problems,  this  tendency  has  already 
gone  far  to  confuse  in  the  minds  of  many  the  fundamental 
distinction  between  truth  and  falsehood,  and  to  commend 
the  exercise  of  a  dissimulation  which  has  ceased  to  be  con- 
sidered a  mark  of  cowardice  or  hypocrisy,  and  is  indulgently 
regarded  as  a  philosophical  way  of  making  life  easier. 

Mr  Bancroft  is  by  nature  quite  incapable  of  adapting  him- 
self to  the  new  method.  Neither  his  character  nor  his  train- 
ing fits  him  for  such  compromises  and  such  systematic 
palterings.  Thirty  years  of  downright  labor  in  chiseling  the 
naked  truth  of  history  out  of  a  huge  block  of  mixed  material 
cannot  prepare  a  man  for  the  practice  of  equivocation,  shuf- 
fling, or  tergiversation.  Such  a  lifetime  of  virtual  detach- 
ment from  public  affairs  is  very  certain  to  have  another 
consequence.  The  author,  being  under  no  obligations  to 
faction  or  party,  having  no  interests  to  serve  by  softening  or 
withholding  his  views  of  men  and  measures  and  movements, 
is  apt  to  speak  out  with  a  plainness  and  emphasis  very  sur- 
prising and  disconcerting  to  all  whose  long  habituation  to 
partisan  methods  has  dulled  the  edge  of  their  ethical  sensi- 
tiveness. Such  a  man  does  not  express  himself  with  a  view 


ESSAYS   AND    MISCELLANY  9 

to  catching  popular  applause,  and  therefore  he  neither  con- 
ceals nor  flatters  nor  writes  with  his  eyes  shut.  Mr  Bancroft, 
for  example,  squarely  traverses  the  dominant  opinion  of  the 
Pacific  coast  upon  the  Chinese  question.  In  the  essay  "  Two 
Sides  of  a  Vexed  Question,"  he  certainly  gives  both  sides 
with  the  utmost  fairness,  and  with  a  frank  rejection  of  dis- 
guise peculiarly  his  own  ;  but  he  sums  up  against  the  anti- 
Chinese  sentiment  on  the  whole  case,  and  with  deliberation 
and  a  judicial  air.  His  essay  on  "  Our  Treatment  of  the 
Native  Races,"  is  an  equally  bold  presentation  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  it  deals  with  a  subject  regarding  which  no  such 
feeling  exists,  and  it  will  provoke  little,  if  any,  remonstrance. 
The  facts  unhappily  are  altogether  too  notorious  for  denial 
to  be  availing.  It  is  unquestionably  true  that  in  the  early 
times  of  California  the  native  Americans  were  outrageously 
ill-used  by  brutal  Missourians  and  other  frontier  people,  who 
were  themselves  tenfold  more  barbarous  than  the  Mexicans 
they  despised. 

It  is  not  less  unquestionably  true  that  the  Chinese,  though 
tolerated  at  first,  were  soon  subjected  to  a  cruel  persecution; 
and  this  not  only  by  lawless  miners,  but  by  cowardly  and 
demagogical  legislatures,  which  traded  upon  the  political 
impotence  of  their  victims.  But  the  Chinese  had  really  less 
cause  for  complaint  than  the  native  Californians,  for  the 
latter  were  the  original  owners  .of  the  land,  and  most  of  them 
were  robbed  of  their  estates  by  all  manner  of  fraud  and 
chicanery;  while  such  as  had  no  real  property  were  often 
hounded  like  pariahs.  Mr  Bancroft  lays  the  lash  on  the 
guilty  unsparingly,  and  his  treatment  of  this  somewhat  out- 
worn topic  prepares  the  reader  for  the  spirit  in  which  the 
author  enters  upon  a  discussion  of  "  The  Jury  System,"  and 
"Money  and  Monopoly."  In  the  first  of  these  essays  the 
historian  seems  to  have  assumed  the  role  of  iconoclast. 
The  jury  system,  as  viewed  by  its  failures  and  defects, 
strikes  him  as  obsolete,  and  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  so. 
No  doubt  much  may  be  urged  on  that  side  of  the  question; 
but  apart  from  all  consideration  of  the  weight  of  conserva- 
tism and  tradition  which  tend  to  maintain  all  long  estab- 
lished institutions,  even  when  they  are  palpably  outgrown, 
no  practical  discussion  of  such  a  topic  can  omit  the  presen- 
tation of  a  substitute  for  the  condemned  institution;  and  this 
Mr  Bancroft  has  neglected  to  do.  According  to  him  it 
would  be  much  better,  in  criminal  cases,  to  leave  the  deci- 


10  ESSAYS    AND    MISCELLANY 

sion  to  the  judge.  In  dealing  with  the  lesser  offences,  mis- 
demeanors, etc.,  this  method  is  already  employed  in  several 
of  the  states,  and  in  all  municipal  systems.  But  Mr  Ban- 
croft does  not  believe  that  the  judiciary,  under  existing 
political  modes,  is  trustworthy  in  general;  and  if  that  be 
the  case,  how  could  it  be  relied  on  to  supersede  juries? 

The  essays  entitled  "  The  New  Civilization,"  "  Social 
Analysis,"  u  Nation  Making,"  deal  with  the  evolution  of 
society  in  the  far  west,  and  with  that  of  California  in  par- 
ticular. Though  Mr  Bancroft  sees  clearly  and  records 
plainly  the  various  abuses  and  wrongs  which  have  been 
worked  out  in  the  development  of  these  young  communities, 
no  writer  has  expressed  himself  more  hopefully,  or,  indeed, 
more  enthusiastically,  regarding  the  future  of  the  Pacific 
states.  Some,  in  fact,  may  think  that  his  anticipations  are 
rather  in  excess  of  the  justification  for  them,  and  may  doubt 
whether  the  peculiarities  which  marked  the  organization  of 
these  newer  states  are  such  as  to  afford  ground  for  the 
expectation  that  a  higher  civilization  will  develop  there  than 
the  older  states  have  succeeded  in  attaining.  Certainly — 
and  Mr  Bancroft  points  this  out  himself  with  sufficient 
insistence — the  development  thus  far  has  been  mainly  upon 
materialistic  lines,  and  whatever  special  intellectual  forces 
have  been  evolved  have  gravitated  more  in  that  direction 
than  toward  literature  and  art.  This,  no  doubt,  is  the 
natural  effect  of  the  circumstances,  but  while  those  circum- 
stances are  practically  unchanged  it  would  seem  rather  pre- 
mature to  look  for  the  marked  transformation  which  is  here 
welcomed  in  anticipation.  Three  papers,  on  "  History  Writ- 
ing," "  Criticism,"  and  "  Work,"  proceed  obviously  from  the 
literary  labors  upon  which  Mr  Bancroft  has  been  so  long 
engaged.  The  first  of  these  may  be  said  to  set  forth  the 
motives  and  principles  upon  which  the  historian  of  the 
Pacific  coast  has  himself  proceeded.  No  one  who  is  familiar 
with  his  works  can  fail  to  recognize  this  in  his  strong  argu- 
ment for  impartiality,  the  elimination  of  prejudice  and  pre- 
possession, and  the  vital  importance  of  thorough  research 
into  the  sources  of  history.  It  is  true  that  very  few  histo- 
rians have  had  like  opportunities  with  him  to  get  to  the  very 
foundations,  for  none  have  had  at  command  the  same  wealth 
of  material.  His  observations,  however,  are  all  the  more 
weighty  on  this  account,  for  he  knows  all  the  difficulty  of 
arriving  at  trustworthy  conclusions  in  the  face  of  opposed 
and  irreconcilable  statements. 


ESSAYS   AND    MISCELLANY  11 

The  essay  on  "Criticism"  is  really  a  critique  of  the  critics, 
and  it  is  hardly  competent  for  one  of  the  latter  to  review 
such  a  paper  dispassionately  perhaps.  Much  of  what  Mi- 
Bancroft  says  is,  however,  not  easy  to  controvert ;  and  as, 
according  to  the  fashion  of  poor  human  nature,  assailed 
critics  may  take  refuge  among  those  who  are  declared  praise- 
worthy, it  is  possible  that  few  will  think  it  worth  while  to 
take  issue  with  the  essayist.  The  case  is  one  in  which  the 
French  proverb — "Qui  s'  excuse,  s'  accuse" — applies  with 
unmistakable  force.  There  are  honest  critics,  says  Mr  Ban- 
croft, and  there  are  dishonest  ones.  Whoever  dissents  from 
such  a  statement  inevitably  lays  himself  open  to  the  sus- 
picion of  sympathizing  with,  if  not  of  belonging  to,  the  latter. 
Moreover,  critics  are  supposed  to  be  pachydermatous,  and 
have  always  been  considered  fair  game  for  authors. 

They  have,  in  the  present  instance  at  least,  the  consola- 
tion of  reflecting  that  the  California  historian  does  not  go 
the  length  of  one  or  two  modern  writers  and  advocate  the 
total  extinction  of  criticism,  as  in  some  sort  a  sacrilegious 
and  wicked  business.  All  that  he  asks  is  the  application  of 
fair  play,  honesty,  and  some  conscientious  examination  in 
the  exercise  of  the  critical  function;  and  there  are  those  who 
may  think  the  proposition  not  overbold  or  unreasonable, 
though  whether  it  is  a  practical  one,  failing  a  rather  radical 
amendment  in  human  nature,  is  another  question.  The 
essay  on  "Work,"  is  the  energetic  expression  of  a  worker, 
and  perhaps  it  does  not  sufficiently  take  into  consideration 
the  position  of  that  large  class  who  appear  to  have  come  into 
the  world  already  fatigued.  It  is  nevertheless  a  positively 
refreshing  vindication  of  the  blessings  of  hard  work,  and 
written  with  a  sincerity,  the  best  proof  of  which  lies  in  the 
writer's  own  remarkable  achievements. 

"  Mongolianism  in  America,"  is  a  detailed  and  highly 
graphic  and  interesting  description  of  Chinese  life  and  man- 
ners as  seen  in  San  ^rancisco.  It  is,  we  think,  the  fullest 
and  most  detailed  account  of  the  kind  that  has  appeared. 
The  Chinese  quarter  of  San  Francisco  has  been  thoroughly 
explored  from  end  to  end,  and  everything  and  everybody  in 
it  is  put  on  record  in  these  pages  with  almost  photographic 
minuteness.  Chinese  theatres,  restaurants,  stores,  joss- 
houses,  private  dwellings,  house  and  street  life,  amusements, 
games  of  chance,  occupations  of  every  kind,  crimes  and 
criminals,  industrial  and  commercial  progress,  etc.,  are 
exploited,  and  with  scrupulous  fidelity  to  the  truth  and  an 


12  ESSAYS   AND    MISCELLANY 

entire  absence  of  sensationalism  and  exaggeration.  It  is  a 
really  admirable  and  altogether  reliable  picture,  and  its 
value  is  the  greater  in  that  it  is  simply  a  picture,  and  not 
the  groundwork  for  any  theories  or  speculations  or  recom- 
mendations. The  facts  speak  for  themselves,  and  nothing 
more  is  needed.  A  very  interesting  essay  is  that  on  "  Early 
California  Literature,"  in  which,  while  much  useful  and 
recondite  information  is  given  concerning  the  writers  who 
lived  before  the  American  period,  the  chief  attraction  is  the- 
portion  dealing  with  those  who  went  to  California  in  and 
after  the  gold  discovery.  One  result  of  that  momentous 
event  was  to  stimulate  local  authorship.  During  the  first 
twenty-five  years  more  than  200  books  about  the  golden 
state  were  published,  though  none  of  them  were  remarkable 
for  excellence  in  any  respect.  To  write  anything  like  a  full 
account  of  California  early  literature,  however,  would 
demand  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  a  Bohemian  society 
which  for  many  years  lived  its  own  life  in  San  Francisco  ; 
which  produced  a  considerable  number  of  really  brilliant 
writers  ;  which  controlled  the  tone  of  California  literature, 
such  as  it  was,  and  which  has  long  since  wholly  disappeared 
and  been  replaced  by  quite  other  conditions  and  men. 

The  concluding  essay  in  the  volume  is  called  "  Plato 
Revised."  It  is  an  examination,  not  formal  and  perhaps 
not  wholly  serious,  thrown  into  the  form  of  the  Socratic  dia- 
logue, of  the  claims  upon  credibility  of  tradition  and  intu- 
ition in  various  matters,  and  especially  as  regards  theogonies. 
The  central  idea  is  worked  out  with  decided  ingenuity  and 
not  a  little  dialectic  skill  and  subtlety.  Plato,  who,  with 
Socrates  and  other  intimates  of  the  Porch,  are  supposed  to 
meet  somewhere  in  No-Man's  Land  to  discuss  the  changes 
that  have  occurred  since  their  time,  engage  in  discussions 
which  generally  result  in  the  demolition  of  poor  Plato's 
positions.  It  is  rather  long,  but  will  repay  the  reader.  Mr 
Bancroft  in  these  varied  literary  excursions  has  shown  that 
the  love  and  quest  of  truth  which  characterize  his  historical 
writings  are  ingrained  in  him,  and  also  that  he  has  carried 
his  inquiries  far  beyond  the  already  wide  sphere  of  his 
special  labors.  The  essays  are  the  work  of  a  strong  and 
straightforward  thinker,  and  of  one  who  is  never  afraid  of 
logical  consequences. 

THE   HISTORY   COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


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